Beneath the dark sky, the sound of battle finally ceased. The only sounds were the waves crashing into the sinking ship and the groaning of its collapsing structure. Liu Xing stood his ground, the blood of his enemies coating the deck immediately around him. Some of it stained his red robe, which had a self-cleaning function, but its effectiveness diminished with each use. Sooner or later, he would need to discard it.

  As he stood, the jade slip in his hands shone briefly. Liu Xing closed his eyes to process the information it contained. The data was abundant, from reports of dwindling supplies and the movements of great sects in the Wild Tide Region, to news about the destruction of communication relays—some by the great sects, some by him—and much more. He could have stood there for a full day digesting it all, but he had neither the time nor the desire. Instead, he searched for the information he needed.

  First things first, while he was eager to find out whether his belongings—including his stone blade, token, and spatial bags—were nearby, he fought this desire and focused on more serious matters, which was the location of information relays in the area.

  The information stated that he was currently in a place called the Calm Ocean. Compared to other areas within the Wild Tide Region, the sea currents and winds were more docile. The weather was mostly pleasant, with storms only occasionally gracing this small patch of the ocean. However, while nature here was calm, the concentration of ambient qi was quite dense. This resulted in a higher concentration of spirit beasts with strength great enough to threaten elders of the Nether Lotus Sect. There were also records of a mist that sometimes covered the area, and people who entered this mist were likely never seen again.

  Digesting this information, Liu Xing pinched his chin. Mist. He had two specific experiences concerning mist. One involved a demonic cultivator called Bewitching Princess, and the second was about a sea of mist that hid… something—he did not remember what—where he had been swallowed by a whale and then met Silver Saint. If the mist was the result of Bewitching Princess, then Liu Xing did not have to fear her. Although he had been defeated previously, it was not because he was weaker than her. It was because she had used his friends as hostages. Liu Xing's friends were dead or kidnapped, so Bewitching Princess had no edge on him. Thinking this, he clenched his fists, his nails digging into his skin. He inhaled deeply and relaxed his body.

  The second possibility was more troublesome. He remembered that the mist was actually qi, though its nature was quite odd, and his instincts had warned him never to absorb it.

  "Whatever the case, it seems that this is the perfect place to hide inheritances," Liu Xing muttered.

  Yu Heng had stated that the undersea palace—their destination—was guarded by tons of vicious spirit beasts, and this area of the ocean fit the criteria. It seemed that they were indeed heading in the correct direction.

  He searched for more information about the immediate area and found that the Nether Lotus Sect had quite a few important places all around. These ranged from mundane things like gold to caves that contained spirit stones and even spirit beast farms useful as ingredients to create pills and elixirs. But while all of these were important, he found that there were many communication relays nearby, islands where clans loyal to the Nether Lotus Sect resided, and even the remnants of the Han clan residences. Liu Xing noted all the important information, intending to visit these locations on his way to the undersea palace. Then, with his heart beating slightly faster inside his chest, he began to search for information about a place called the Garden of Red.

  As Liu Xing processed the information about that place, his expression soured. When he finished, he stored the jade slip in his spatial ring. He then looked around for anyone injured but still alive. There were none, so Liu Xing leaped from the giant ship and landed on his shield high in the air. Below, the ship was sinking slowly, and he predicted that in about thirty minutes, it would be beneath the sea. Some fish on the ocean floor would have a new home, and the remains of the people on board would be their food.

  Liu Xing jumped off his shield and moved through the air. Tide Walker followed behind him, trailed by several Eyes of Lightning. Against the pitch-black sky, the eyes were visible despite their small size, and he grimaced, knowing they could not be stored and would need to be destroyed soon.

  When he arrived near a small island, Liu Xing pivoted left, slowed down, and counted the seconds. Then, he dived into the sea and looked and sensed his surroundings. When he felt a small presence nearby, he summoned his shield and kicked it, propelling himself forward. Soon, the ship, covered by a green-tinted barrier, came into view. When he was directly in front of it, he tapped the barrier several times. Yu Heng, who stood silently behind the steering wheel with his eyes fixed straight ahead on the still whale, jolted in surprise. When Liu Xing pointed upward, Yu Heng nodded and made the ship rise.

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  After a minute, the ship finally surfaced. The green-tinted barrier popped, and Liu Xing landed inside the ketch, his red robe soaking with water and blood. Yu Heng asked about his mission, which Liu Xing explained had gone well. He told the man what he had done and what information he had gathered.

  "I see," Yu Heng said after hearing everything. "This place is said to be dangerous, though I assumed it was because of the Nether Lotus Sect. So, should we move directly to the undersea palace, or is there any other place you need to visit? Like that Garden of Red or another communication relay?"

  Liu Xing activated the function to dry his robe. Instantly, white vapor swirled around him, and his robe was dry. At the same time, he rubbed his chin.

  The Garden of Red was a tempting destination. From what he knew, the place was quite vile. It was a human farm. When the people there matured, they were killed, their organs harvested, and their blood poured into a specific lake used to gather a specific type of qi. The blood then merged with the qi and was transported to the main base to be used as material to create pills and elixirs, consumed directly, or absorbed by people with specific cultivation methods. The blood on that island was said to be so abundant that the flowers that bloomed there absorbed it, turning their petals red. Not only that, but around three years ago, another type of human farm had been created there, and this one belonged to a man said to be an elder from the Purple Moon Sect.

  Letting that place remain intact would leave a bad taste in his mouth. Yet, because this place was deep inside the territory of the Nether Lotus Sect, was an important location, and had an important person residing there, security was quite tight. Not to mention the elder himself was there, and since there was a report that he had argued with Ye Xuanming, and Liu Xing knew how strong that man was, visiting the island was quite risky.

  "Where is your compass pointing?" Liu Xing asked Yu Heng.

  Yu Heng pulled a small, flat compass from his inner robe. The compass was only the size of a coin, and the needle was so thin that it looked carved. Yet, the moment it absorbed some ambient qi, the needle inside the compass suddenly moved. Liu Xing saw where it was pointing.

  "Still southeast," Yu Heng said.

  "The Garden of Red is coincidentally that way too," he said. He thought for a moment and then nodded. "Alright, Yu Heng, let's head there."

  "You intend to destroy this place too?"

  "I am tempted," Liu Xing replied. "But no," he shook his head. "Even for me, attempting to destroy it is too risky. We will pass through it without creating any commotion, though I intend to gather more information there."

  While killing people there would be risky, the risk would be manageable if he only snuck around and gathered information. He decided he had two goals there. One was to take back his belongings—especially his stone blade—and the other was to find out who the elder backing the Nether Lotus Sect was, with an added bonus of finding out how he could prevent information from leaking from the Wild Tide Region. If he could finish all his tasks, including the bonus one, it could perhaps change the landscape of the battlefield. After all, chaos would start if the Purple Moon Sect entered the fray. However, he decided not to hope for too much. He would be happy even if he could only get his stone blade back.

  With their destination set, Liu Xing activated his invisibility and spread it to cover the ketch. Then, they began to sail southeast, directly toward the Garden of Red. Along the way, Yu Heng tried to talk with Mi Lian again. However, like his previous attempts, it was an utter failure. Mi Lian could not be convinced, but Yu Heng said that he realized his chance was not zero.

  "Why?" Liu Xing asked.

  "Whaley has recovered," Yu Heng stated. Liu Xing looked toward the whale. While it was invisible, Liu Xing could imagine It was still lying in the middle of the ketch, unmoving like a dead carcass with Tide Walker lying atop it. But Liu Xing could sense that the whale indeed felt slightly stronger than before. If Liu Xing fed it his potent qi, it would recover faster. But since the whale was not his, Liu Xing decided against it.

  "Yet," Yu Heng continued, "it didn't flee or attack me, which means that deep inside Mi Lian's heart, she doesn't want to part with me or hurt me."

  "Isn't that because that whale is your servant?" Liu Xing asked.

  "A servant, yes, but not an unthinking one. While it is hard, it could disobey me. Sharkey is the prime example. It doesn't recognize me as its master anymore and decided that you're its master."

  Liu Xing had no words to reply, so he just shrugged. Yu Heng was perhaps correct, or he could be wrong. From what he could sense, the whale looked depressed, like a person who saw the world as a gray place not worth living in anymore. In that kind of mindset, moving or thrashing or fighting the world felt futile, so why bother doing anything at all?

  Yu Heng talked, Mi Lian and the whale listened without any response, and Liu Xing meditated. Inside his consciousness, his three cores were dancing chaotically, with his third core fully saturated with qi. He needed to saturate the second core and then the main core again, and at that time, he could finally create his fourth core. He was sure that he could break through to the next stage as long as he continued massacring the Nether Lotus Sect.

  Hours passed. Then, far in the distance, a silhouette of an island could be seen. That island was called the Garden of Red, and the sea that surrounded it was red, as if the island itself was bleeding.

  Liu Xing stood and prepared himself.

  joining us!